The present invention relates to athletic protectors for protecting the genitals.
Athletic protectors for protecting the genitals during sporting activities generally fall into either the “hard cup” or the “soft cup” type. Hard cups are typically worn for contact sports or those involving high-speed projectiles (e.g., baseball, hockey, lacrosse, etc.), where there is a significant likelihood of being struck in the groin with a hard blow. The traditional type of hard cup includes a rigid plastic shell bonded to a softer material that forms a margin or edge region of the cup for contacting the wearer's body during use. Such hard cups are not particularly comfortable to wear.
Soft cups are much more pliable than hard cups, and are usually worn in non-contact sports or activities that do not involve a significant likelihood of receiving a hard, high-velocity blow to the groin. A soft cup offers more protection than a jock strap alone, but not nearly as much as a hard cup. The chief advantage of the soft cup is that it is much more comfortable to wear than a hard cup.
A particular individual who is involved in both contact sports and non-contact sports generally would have to own at least one hard cup and at least one soft cup.